Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery is excited to have a full-circle moment Thursday when he leads his team onto the ice at Giant Center for a preseason game in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Carbery coached the Capitals’ AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, from 2018 to 2021, racking up a 104-50-17 record. In 2021, the team earned the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy, awarded to the team with the most standings points in the league. That same season, Carbery also won the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as AHL coach of the year.
“I’m really looking forward to it, to be honest with you. I’ve thought about it a little bit,” Carbery told reporters Wednesday. “I got a little butterflies right there.
“It’s a special place,” he continued. “I’ve had a lot of good memories there. So being back in that building and being able to stand on the bench and coach the Washington Capitals there will be a great moment.”
The Capitals will “host” the Philadelphia Flyers in their second preseason contest this fall. The game will be the third time the Caps have hosted a game at Giant Center and the first NHL game at the arena in 19 years. Since opening in 2002, the Giant Center has hosted four different NHL preseason games.
The Bears and Capitals have been affiliated since 2005, with a previous stint lasting from 1977 to 1984, and will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of that partnership. The Capitals had 15 players on their 2024-25 roster who had previously suited up for the Bears, including John Carlson, Connor McMichael, Aliaksei Protas, Ethen Frank, and Dylan McIlrath.
“I think it’s the strongest NHL-AHL relationship in the National Hockey League and the AHL,” Carbery said. “[We’re] proud that there’s a ton of players that have come through Hershey that have been arguably Hall of Fame players in the NHL. And there’s a genuine connection between pulling for each other and the proximity. So to be able to go back and play there with a lot of guys that started their careers there. I think it’s a special thing to be able to do that. I’m glad we get to do that.”
Carbery is the third head coach in Capitals history to have previously led the Bears. Bryan Murray coached one season in Hershey (1980-81) before taking the reins in DC from 1981-90. The beloved Bruce Boudreau was also in charge in “Chocolatetown” from 2005 to 2007 before leading the Caps from November 2007 to 2011. Current assistant coach Scott Allen, goaltending coach Scott Murray, and video coach Emily Engle-Natzke were also promoted from the Bears.
Carbery’s family lived in Hershey for five years, three of which he spent coaching there, and another two after he left to become an assistant coach in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He still feels a strong connection to the community and is eager to reunite with some old acquaintances.
“There’s so many people that you walk around that building and through town that you get to know over the years,” he said fondly. “There’ll be a lot of smiles and a lot of people that I haven’t seen in a long time that I’m looking forward to saying hello to.”
Carbery also revealed on Wednesday that he plans to play both the Protas and Strome brothers against the Flyers. Alex Ovechkin will not make the trip as he continues to recover from a lower-body injury.
Puck drop for the game in Hershey is set for 7 pm.
